The Cyclops Of Odilon Redon

In doing the research for Issue 3 of Robot 13: Colossus!, I found the painting above. Yes, the Cyclops of Odilon Redon's painting isn't what most people picture when they think of the creature, but in reality it's closer to the truth than most versions...



The picture above is a skull from a person born with extreme Holoprosencephaly or"Cyclops Deformity." Approximately 1 in every 16,000 children will exhibit some form of Cyclopia, although those born with extreme cases such as the one above almost never survive because children born with this almost always have other deformities and can be as much as 1,000 times more susceptible to cancers.

Also, you will see that the skull, like Odilion's Cyclops, has no nose. Usually, children born with Cyclopia either have no nose or will have a nose with limited to no function.



What that means is, while Ray Harryhausen's Cyclops was very cool looking, it was far less accurate that that of Odilion's painting.